AU Episode 1
by spazenport
Summary: What would have happened if Anakin died at the Podrace...that's where the story starts, right after that horrible accident...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Qui Gon Jinn stalked back towards where the ship was parked outside of Mos Espa. He carried with him the weight of several dozen banthas pressing down on his spirit.

He had told the boy he'd be free.

He had argued against the boy's mother.

He had encouraged the boy to race.

The flare of the boy's death hit harder than his mother's slap.

Qui Gon wouldn't be this upset about it, except for the fact that the Force was screaming, as if the boy's death was not in accordance with the Force's will.

He had called ahead to have Obi Wan begin removing the Queen's possessions from the ship. The Toydarian would be by soon to claim his ship.

In tow, was followed by the Queen's sobbing handmaiden, Padme Naberrie, and the klumsy Gungan, Jar Jar Binks.

How could he have been so wrong about the boy? He had sensed the strength in Anakin. The boy was obviously destined for-

_Danger!_

_Qui Gon spun around unclipping his lightsaber at the appearance of a viciously tatooed Zabrak coming at him and his companions on a speeder bike. _

Padme and Jar Jar dove out of the way as the speeder tore between them. With a leap, the Zabrak left the speeder drawing a lengthy handled lightsaber.

The Jedi met the assailant mid-air, his green blade clashing against the Zabrak's crimson.

Qui Gon ducked several slashes before leaping away again. This Zabrak was too good. As Qui Gon landed he found himself pressed to parry immediately, finding himself just barely able to keep with the pace of this fight. Three quick jabs from his assailant forced Qui Gon to do another back flip to regroup his attack efforts. Mid-backflip Qui Gon stiffened one leg and knocked the Zabrak back.

Upon landing, Qui Gon repositioned for a more aggressive attack and the Zabrak prepared himself for the assault. Quigon attacked high and fast, forcing his enemy back more with each attack. As the Zabrak attempted a quick thrust, Qui Gon parried it and jabbed a small hole through the Zabrak's shoulder.

Other than a wince, the Zabrak made no notice of the breach of his defenses. His fighting actually seemed to gather momentum. Qui Gon's attack failed to slow as he continued to press his advantage. As he forced the Zabrak to tighten his defenses, the Zabrak started to smile.

With a fast parry followed by a kick, the Zabrak brought some distance between himself and Qui Gon. With this distance, Qui Gon could sense the shift in the advantage before he saw it.

The long handle of the Zabrak's lightsaber, ignited on the other end as well. The double-bladed weapon would definitely stregthen the Zabrak's attack. Qui Gon gathered the Force to himself as the Zabrak moved to attack.

With the speed of the attack, as well as the added danger of the double-bladed weapon, Qui Gon could sense the destination of this confrontation and quickly reached out with his mind summoning aid from Obi Wan. The aid wouldn't arrive soon enough.

Qui Gon was quickly losing the advantage. As the Zabrak pressed, Qui Gon found he couldn't continue a fight against two blades. As the Jedi Master through his blade back to protect his back, he found he couldn't return the blade to his front soon enough to stop the mext swing. The thrust of the blade through his abdomen was colder than Qui Gon expected it to be.

As the Zabrak removed his blade and shut down his lightsaber, Qui Gon noticed that he showed no attributes of having just been in battle. The Zabrak walked away towards Padme, who lay on the ground screaming, tears streaming down her face.

Jar Jar moved to defend her, and a Force shove threw him yards away. The Zabrak grabbed her.

"Where is the Queen?"

Padme simply continued to cry. Ignoring the person who was holder her by her throat.

"Where is the Queen?" he was shouting now, and Padme continued to ignore him.

"Very well." Qui Gon watched as the Zabrak raised his hand over her eyes and focused his attention towards the handmaiden. She let out a scream, not of terror this time, but of pain. He laughed a wicked laugh and dropped Padme into the sand. Turning back to Jar Jar he stated, " Tell them what happened here. I will be on Naboo."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the time Obi Wan arrived, Qui Gon had merged with the Force, leaving a beaten body where he had fought. Near Qui Gon, Jar Jar lay on the ground whimpering. Through the emotions lancing through him, Obi Wan went to Jar Jar.

"Jar Jar, what happened here?" He tried to keep his voice steady.

_There is no emotion; there is only peace. _He reminded himself.

Jar Jar kept looking around wildly, not speaking anything coherently. Obi Wan grabbed him by the collar of his vest and, as evenly as possible, repeated the question.

"Mesa no know. First da Jedi doins good, then the Jedi dead. Mesa no know. Poor Qui Gon get maxy big beatens by red Jedi."

_Blast his infernal gibberish!_

_"Are you saying a Jedi killed Qui Gon?"_

"Yah! A Jedi beatens Qui Gon. He was all reddens with a big otello lightsaber."

_This makes no sense..._

_"Where is the handmaiden?" Obi Wan asked, still puzzled over what he was hearing. The markings on Qui Gon's body only confirmed what the shocked Gungan was saying._

"Bombad Jedi takens her to Naboo. He told me to tellens you." Obi Wan handed the care of Jar Jar over to one of the Queen's security personnel. The last of the Queen's personal belongings had been taken by eopie back to Mos Espa for storage. As Obi Wan started carrying Qui Gon's body back to the ship, a Toydarian and two Gamorrean guards rode up on a landspeeder.

"Chuba! Koona t'chuta? Where do you think you are going?" The Toydarian demanded.

The Toydarian seemed to be ignoring the fact that his former business partner was slung over the young man's shoulder.

"The ship is yours, but I need to send a message to Coruscant before you take it." And Obi Wan started back with his trek towards the ship.

"I don't think so, outlander. You want to send a message from my ship then you are gonna pay me, and not in Republic credits like your friend there."

With Obi Wan's free hand he called his lightsaber to it and drew the weapon next to the Toydarian's throat. "Hogwa boska punyoo!" He shouted at the Gamorreans. "I think you are failing to notice the bad day I seem to be having. I'm going to send a message from that ship, eniki?" Trying to sound threatening, he tried his best to summon as much Huttese from his old lessons as he could.

The Toydarian stuttered, "Ootmian J-jedi...Of course. My ship is your ship."

Obi Wan retracted his blade and pulled out his comm as he thanked the Toydarian.

"Commander Typho, I will meet you at the rendezvous in one hour. Keep the Queen hidden."

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Aboard the ship, the holocomm was alive, showing the faces of Masters Yoda and Windu. Their faces echoed the disturbance that they must have felt at Qui Gon's death. The council was never too keen to accept his stubborn nature, but he was still their friend. At the moment though, they were contemplating this news of how he had died. Obi Wan had appraised them of the situation and now it was simply a matter of what to do next.

"If kill Qui Gon this enemy could, then dangerous he truly is," Yoda interrupted their contemplation. "Reckless Qui Gon was, yet just as skilled as well. Dangerous an opponent with the Force can be. Caution we must excercise."

"Obi Wan, we will send you a shuttle to take back to Naboo. We want you to form a resistance. You are not to hunt down this assailant. Do I make myself clear?"

Obi Wan clamped down on his emotions, "Yes, Master. What of his kidnapping of the handmaiden though? What is her significance in this?"

Master Windu stroked his chin as he answered. "We are playing sabaac with a formidable opponent. Too many things fail to make sense. Maybe during your forming of the resistance you can come to an answer to our questions. Until then we shall consult the Force."

Yoda broke in at this point, "Remember Obi Wan, vengence the path to the dark side that is. Turn you into the enemy that you seek that path will. Destroy Qui Gon's memory vengence will."

Obi Wan knew Yoda was reading him fairly more accurate than he had been willing to admit before, and Yoda's words rang true. "Yes, my masters. I will take care. May the Force be with you."

As he reached to shut off the transmission, Yoda interrupted again. "If succeed you do, then considered your trials this will be."

Obi Wan nodded his thanks and closed the transmission.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rendezvous that Obi Wan was to keep was an inn on the outside of Mos Espa. Commander Typho was to secure two rooms from the locals, and had chosen a small motel owned by a Lady Valarian, a Whiphid who seemed only slightly less shady to deal with than Jabba the Hutt. Obi Wan made the rendezvous slightly sooner than the time he had claimed he would. The meeting with the Masters had taken up much less time than he had thought. Upon arrival, he found that Typho was still securing the defenses of the two rooms.

In passing, Obi Wan bid him silently into the room with a touch of his shoulder. The Queen, having removed her facial makeup, now sat on the only bed in the room, three of her handmaidens sat with her. The others were in the next room, fully armed and only a comm-click away from being the appropriate backup if the locals should get wind of the royalty in their midst. With obvious command of their attention he put his thumbs in his belt and addressed them.

"With my Master's passing and the kidnapping of the handmaiden, I have been given new orders from the Jedi Council. The Senate will see the death of a Jedi as an attack on the Republic and therefore your presence would be of better use back on Naboo. We are to organize a resistance."

The tension in the room was only growing as he spoke. Obi Wan looked from the Queen to her handmaidens and then to her security. Something was amiss.

Obi Wan was in no mood for games.

"What am I missing?"

The Queen opened her mouth to speak, but Obi Wan interrupted.

"I am a Jedi, please, don't disrespect me by attempting to lie to me. You are all hiding something, and as the person trying to keep you safe from not only the Trade Federation, but also some assassin, I believe that now would be the appropriate time to enlighten me as to your secrets, wouldn't you agree?" Everyone grew still.

Typho stepped forward. "She wasn't a handmaiden."

"Excuse me?" Obi Wan was starting to piece it together now.

Typho let out a sigh. "Each one of the Queen's handmaidens is specially trained in combat and disguise. At any time that the Queen's life is at all in danger, a handmaiden will step forward as a decoy." The tension in the room dissapated with those words. Obi Wan picked it up from there.

"And Padme is the actual Queen." He turned fully towards Typho, now the highest ranking person in the room. "Then it is even more urgent that we get back to Naboo and form a resistance effort. We need to stop her from signing the treaty."

It was Typho's turn to be confused. "Why would the assassin tell us to come to Naboo? It doesn't make sense. He has the Queen, us being there would only be a thorn in his side."

Jar Jar walked in at that moment carrying a bundle of food. Obi Wan walked closer to the Gungan and looked at him intently.

"He carried a lightsaber...of red..." Obi Wan mumbled. "Impossible..."  
Typho was eying him suspiciously.

Obi Wan spoke again, but this time they were not his words, but the Force speaking through him. "He's a Sith. He wants us to go to Naboo for a confrontation. He wants to kill another Jedi."

The "Queen" stepped forward. "Whatever you need, we are at your command. We will not quit until the Queen is out of harm's way."

Obi Wan broke from his mental displacement and snapped back to the present.

_Be thinking of the future Obi Wan, but not at the expencse of the moment._

_Qui Gon! Obi Wan suddenly couldn't think straight._

_Center yourself, Obi Wan. Save the Queen._

_Obi Wan turned slowly towards Typho._

He was smiling.

"We have two days before the assault shuttle arrives to take us to Naboo. We should start coordinating strategy. Also, I want to know every detail of your palace in Theed. We're going to get the Queen back and stop the Federation." Obi Wan turned back to Jar Jar. "But first, I'd like a drink. Jar Jar Binks, would you mind joining me at the local Cantina?"

Jar Jar almost dropped the bag of food he was carrying. "Mesa?"

Obi Wan, elated for reasons others couldn't understand, laughed. "Yes, you. I have reason to believe that you could be of great use in the next few days. I would like to treat you to a drink while we discuss this."

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Within the next few days, Obi Wan and Typho had worked out a rather strong plan of action to implement upon their return to Naboo. Their ride, in the form of an assualt shuttle armed with a squad of volunteers from the Republic Defense Force, picked them up on the third day after Qui Gon's death. Noticed as odd by the handmaidens and Commander Typho, Obi Wan seemed almost happy throughout the days of their wait, as if Qui Gon's death hadn't struck him as hard as they had previously thought. Having taken notice of this, they quickly dismissed it as another trademark of the eccentric Jedi Order.

The plan that had been etched out was very simple in design, yet would be difficult in implementation. The assault shuttle would land in the forest 50 kilometers south of Theed Palace after letting loose a burst of jamming signal as to ensure that they aren't picked up on entry. Upon landing, they would conduct reconnaissance on the city in hopes of finding more people to add to their resistance as well as a method of scouting defenses. After this, Obi Wan would use what he learned from Jar Jar and hopefully capture Viceroy Gunray and end the blockade.

Well, that's how he hoped it would go. He also hoped that he would be able to unravel this Sith mystery as well.

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The landing on planet went almost according to plan except for an instance in which a STAP patrol came dangerously close to discovering their encampment. A well swung lightsaber and a fallen tree helped to divert the droid's attention away from the encampment.

Obi Wan left Typho and the Republic Defense Force to running scouting missions on Theed while he made Jar Jar take him in search of the other Gungans.

Finally, after not finding them in their underwater city, Jar Jar led Obi Wan to the Gungan "Holy Place." The Gungans held to the previous displeasure at seeing them.

Forcefully, the guards dragged Obi Wan and Jar Jar in front of Boss Nass and the other Gungan Council members and pushed them to their knees.

"What is thisen? Binks and the Jedi return? Convince me not to poonish you Jedi." Boss Nass' voice carried with it an extent of annoyance that Obi Wan hadn't heard before from the Gungan council leader.

The guards holding Obi Wan at his knees prodded him with their staffs as to push him towards responding. Instead Obi Wan closed his eyes and lowered his head. The guards surrounding him flew at least ten feet away from him and he stood up. The reaction of the other Gungans was to raise their weapons.

_Be mindful Obi Wan._

_Obi Wan made no other move after standing up, other than to look directly at Boss Nass with a gaze as strong as his commitment to his mission._

"I come before you, not as a prisoner, but as a fellow warrior. Your people and you are part of a symbiotic circle with the Naboo. What effects them will effect you. I understand your displeasure with the Naboo, but I do not come before you as a Naboo. I am here as a fellow warrior and soldier to beg you for the commitment of your army in our shared conflict. Defend your home, defend those who share your home, and save the Naboo Queen."

Boss Nass looked up and down Obi Wan. His anger that was very apparent at the throwing of his guards was starting to ebb. He stared uncomfortable long at the Jedi, but Obi Wan would not let the strength of his gaze falter.

"Ha! Mesa likens you Jedi. The Gungans will helpens yousen maybe."

Obi Wan's gaze softened, only slightly. "Maybe?"

"The Naboo thinken they big otello. Yousa we liken. The Gungans will deal with yousa, not the Naboo." Boss Nass shook his head in one of his spit takes he did so commonly.

Obi Wan had to toss this around for a moment. It seemed to be the only way to get the Gungan army on their side, but it could mean that continued peace between the two dominant races of Naboo would be dependent on his indefinite continued presence on Naboo. He was unsure if he could promise that to them. He saw no other way though.

_This is acceptable Obi Wan. It will be very beneficial to Naboo, as well as to you._

_"Very well, this is acceptable. Also, I would like to address the matter of Jar Jar's life-debt to my Master. He was like a father to me, and if I understand it correctly, his death transfers all life-debts to me."_

Boss Nass showed no sign of the previous frustration he had experienced at hearing of Jar Jar's life-debt. "Thisen is understood. Now takens us to the battle."

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A quick leap brough Obi Wan over and in front of a group of droids guarding the Palace, his lightsaber still hooked to his belt. Shifting the Force as he landed, the three guards pulled tightly together. The Republic Defense Volunteers who had been tracking Obi Wan's leap released a salvo of destructive energy that tore through the droids and forced the young Jedi to dive backwards.

Following Kenobi's orders, the Defense team continued to track him as he leapt in front of different groups of security droids. When the entire southern wall had been cleared, having taken less then a minute, the troops had moved in along side Obi Wan and prepared their ascension guns.

Obi Wan had brought a squad of twelve with him. The plan was to enter at the fourth floor windows, keep tight and then take the lift back down to the third floor. That was where the Viceroy was sure to be. The fourth floor had been designated the entry point because of the lack of activity noticed by the assigned watch teams for the last week. They expected, and recieved, little resistance.

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Obi Wan had asssigned the Gungans the charge of retaking the hangar. Bursting in with out firing a shot, the Gungans immediately started hurling their energy orbs at the droids. The first line of Gungans launched with specific targets in mind: the command units. The second line of Gungans threw the orbs in the general direction of the pilots, and in great amounts. In a matter of minutes the room had been cleared of droids and only one N-1 fighter had been damaged. The pilots quickly ran to their stations. As the N-1's started to lift off, the Gungans made preparations to return to Boss Nass and help with the main battle.

As they collected themselves, the large bay doors at the opposite end of the hangar slowly opened.

Not a single Gungan would leave that hangar.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As Obi Wan's squad moved through to the third floor, resistance, as expected, increased. They found that they were more than a match for it though. Finally, upon finding the Viceroy, the Jedi moved to shut him in the Queen's office. As they approached, Obi Wan saw that the Viceroy was holding a prisoner, the handmaiden-_No, the Queen_- that the Zabrak had taken. As Obi Wan's squad moved in tighter, the room suddenly filled with Destroyer Droids. Ignoring the droids, Obi Wan took 3 fast steps towards the Viceroy and his helpless captive. From this vantage point Obi Wan could see that she was being held by binders at her wrists behind her back. His steps had brought Obi Wan within kill range of the Viceroy.

The Defense Force was a little edgy now, not knowing for sure what Obi Wan was doing.

"Release her." The young Jedi said.

"What? What are you doing? Those are droidekas. They are more than a match for you and your squad foolish Jedi." The Viceroy, obviously stressed, kept looking past Obi Wan to the droids.

"Viceroy, if they are going to shoot me, then they had better start, I'm about to take away your rights over this system."

Obi Wan could see the fear in the Viceroy's eyes. The problem was simple, and almost hysterically funny if you weren't the Viceroy. As close as Obi Wan was, none of the droids could open fire without hitting the Viceroy or his captive, who was needed alive. Opening fire on the Defense Squad would only put Obi Wan in the position to complete his mission.

Obi Wan spoke before the Viceroy could. "Defense Squad, single file, past the Viceroy and into the Queen's chamber."

Nervously, they did as they were ordered and made it safely by the Viceroy who was still, foolishly standing in the doorway.

Obi Wan slowly lifted his lightsaber, and aimed the deactivated hilt at Gunray. "Backwards, please. And slowly."

They entered the chamber and Obi Wan, with a gesture through the Force, shut the door and sealed it.

Obi Wan turned towards the commander of the Defense Force. After a quick check of the surrounding area through the Force he said, "Take over Captain. I'm needed elsewhere."

"Yes, sir, Jedi Kenobi." He stepped towards the Viceroy and took his gun. "Now, Viceroy, let's discuss a new treaty..."

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Obi Wan's exit was through the nearest window, bringing him down in the still deserted courtyard. As he landed, he took a guaging of the battle through the Force. There was something wrong, very wrong. He could sense a darkness moving from the hangar. Almost beckoning for him to follow him to the Gungan/Droid battle out on the fields.

Within moments he had confiscated a speeder-bike and was launching himself away towards the main battle.


End file.
